Ace Combat 7 In VR Brings Realism To New Levels

For decades, Virtual Reality gaming languished as a sort of novelty with no real ...

For decades, Virtual Reality gaming languished as a sort of novelty with no real interest from either the gamers themselves to the major development studios. Sure, it was neat to try out now and then, but generally speaking, the gaming community just wasn’t really that interested in wearing a headset that completely covered the players’ faces.

Then, a few years ago, that changed and the VR market kind of boomed, bringing about a whole new level of realism and immersion that just isn’t possible playing on a handheld, a console, and TV or on a gaming PC. Even cell phones became viable for virtual reality as headsets were developed that allowed the gamer to just drop his or her phone into the unit and it became the screen.

I’m no gaming expert, but this looks like one of the most realistic games I’ve ever seen, combining incredibly lifelike graphics with the “world around you” made possible only by a VR rig. This short 2-minute clip opens with our host/pilot rolling out of a massive hangar to find absolute chaos beyond the relative safety of the building. Fighter jets are whipping by just feet an away, many of the trailing smoke and crossing nearby. Anti-aircraft guns fire hundreds of rounds toward the enemies overhead, though at least for the time being, it appears the enemies may be winning. Even massive bombers are slamming to the ground in spectacular detail all around our pilot as he calmly taxis to his runway.

Finally, we align with the runway and the pilot launches the jet, perhaps a bit unrealistically quickly, and we’re airborne just as another bomber plummets to its demise. Our fearless pilot scans the sky for a plane to engage, finally finding a foe to lock onto just as the clip ends, because something needs to be left to the imagination!

I’m not even sure what platforms Ace Combat 7 is available on, but if you have a chance, it looks like it would be well worth whatever the price of admission is.